A Bad Taste in the Mouth
by trisanamcgraw
Summary: A weird little ficlet about Caleb's life before Sunnydale. Please read Author's Note at the beginning.


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Author's Note: This is simply some weird little ficlet that came into my mind. I mean absolutely NO disrespect to the Catholic Church. I just have a morbid and creepifyin' mind that makes up this strange stuff.

A Bad Taste in the Mouth

By Trisana McGraw

Caleb's mission for the last several years had brought him to various cities in California, usually taking up residence for only a short while at each place before moving on. He stayed for the longest amount of time at a small neighborhood church in Southern California, where his words about God were welcomed.

When his time at the church was nearing two months, the second grade class at the nearby school was receiving First Holy Communion. Beforehand, however, each child had go through a confession with him.

The children were a mixed lot: some were more earnest to repent, others had no idea what it meant. But one little girl claimed a special place in his mind.

Heidi was one of the first children he spoke to. Her glossy brown hair was braided neatly and tied with red ribbons; she wore a plaid skirt and blouse, the perfect example of innocence. When she sat inside the vestibule, however, her first words were, "Father, I don't know what to confess for. I haven't done anything wrong."

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What audacity, he thought incredulously. She had no idea that she had committed the greatest sin of all by walking the earth as a female. But he didn't tell her that; she wouldn't have understood this early on.

"Well, sweetie, I'm sure you've had times when you've done something wrong," he said.

"I don't know," she replied. "What about you, Father? What sin did you do?"

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Little bitch. He was aching to smack some sense into her, but he adjusted his collar and instead replied mildly, "Mind your manners, child. My business is none of your concern. Now, remember the Ten Commandments."

"Um . . . I don't know. I really want to make up for my sins. Um, well . . . I didn't honor Mama and Papa yesterday, like I'm supposed to."

"There you go," Caleb said. "Now, say one Our Father and one Hail Mary." Heidi skipped off, and the rest of the class came, one by one, but none of the children captivated his attention as she had.

The day of the ceremony arrived in only two weeks. The church had decided on another priest who had been with them longer to perform the ceremony. Caleb stood in the back of the church, watching the children in their pure whites and solemn blacks receive the body of Christ. He had already packed his things; it was time for him to be moving on and sharing the cleansing fire with the world's other sinners. But there was one more lesson for him to teach here.

After the ceremony, he saw Heidi standing near a pew, and he called her over to him. She bounded over, her face shining. "What is it, Father?"

"Come over here, Heidi," he answered, waving her into a room off to the side of the hustle and bustle of parents and friends congratulating their children.

"So how was it?" he asked, closing the door and leaning against the wall.

"It was great. Now I feel even closer to God."

He nodded, saying nothing. She didn't notice him hold his ring over a candle standing beside him and allow the flames to simmer around the metal. "You know that you have tasted the body of Christ, Heidi; flesh so pure that it cannot be sullied by even the dirtiest of mouths, like yours."

Her eyes widened in confusion. "I'm . . . not d-dirty."

He waved her words away and took a step closer. Feeling uncomfortable, she took a step backward, but he advanced once more, and she found herself pressed against the other wall.

"All females are dirty, ever since God made Adam and Eve. But you can make up for this sin, Heidi. Do you know how?"

In a swift movement, he grabbed her around her throat and lifted her tiny body off the ground. Her little feet kicked pathetically at the air as she pounded her fists against his arm. Even now, she tried to fight the good Lord; it hurt his heart to see such rejection, even in the tiniest of creatures. He was of a mind to snap her thin neck, but he remembered that she had wanted to repent for her sins. So, repent she shall. He forced open her mouth with one hand, and he branded his sign on her tongue as she screeched and choked.

He dropped her to the ground and watched for a moment as she sobbed and struggled to scream, but the burning cross within a circle – just like the holy bread – had silenced her. She shoved herself to her feet and ran from the room without looking back. Caleb slowly turned and walked out the other way, hands clasped behind his back. It would be only a short matter of time before the signs for this deed pointed to him, and he didn't want to stick around for the misguided vengeance of these townsfolk.

He would continue up through many more cities, until he reached his final destination of Sunnydale. After all, a man of God's work was never done.


End file.
